Bibliographic Information
Phelan, Matt. THE STORM IN THE BARN. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978-07636-36180.
Plot and Critical Analysis
There are multiple storms occurring in this story. First, the story between Jack and his father, who it seems views Jack as a worthless son unable to do anything correctly and one who always messes up. Secondly, is the storm of the town and their survival against the dust. It is a story of the dust bowl, set in Kansas in 1937. The land is dry, it hasn't rained in years, and farms and livelihoods are diminishing. Finally, is the storm to which the title refers. The storm in the barn is a formed entity of the Rain, which has taken on a ghost-like form trapping the thunder in a bag. The Rain has trapped the thunder which keeps the rain from falling, thus the Rain-man figure has gained the worship of the people, which he believes makes him powerful. As Jip tries to make it day to day as a bullied kid, a loving brother, and a son seeking his father's love, he witnesses a strange light blasting from the barn - a nice contrast to the bland, earthly colored illustrations which have been the only visual colors at this time. That leads him to the barn where the rain is hiding.
The setting is given at the beginning and is the only fact actually written out. The remainder of historic elements come though the character's text (discussions about the dust, lack of rain, etc) and the illustrations of this graphic novel. While one of Jip's sisters is sick from the dust, the other has never known rain. This is especially vital to include to get the seriousness across to any reader. Children of any age will be stunned to find out there is a child who does not know what rain is or that people have gone so long without seeing it. This is especially accurate as people did die due to the dust or abandon their farms and move. The dust seems to escape the pages in Phelan's illustrations with most pages being of shades of brown, greys, and blues for the ground, houses, and clothing. The few exceptions are the rain (a bolder blue) and whenever stories are told or memories of an earlier time are shared - color then enters the illustrations with bright yellows, greens, and reds indicating a time of life and happiness.
This graphic novel is historical fiction for the theme of the dust bowl and how it changed people's lives. The farm life is portrayed by clothes, worries of work and family, and the everyday problems of a child being picked on at school. Readers will relate to the family life portrayed in this book or perhaps, the lack of self-worth Jack feels both from his peers and his father. The farmers are not portrayed as ignorant;however, many are superstitious and one wonders if this idea of the Rain as a thinking and speaking figure was created by other superstition or the author. It is a nice story for at the end Jack battles the Rain and releases the thunder, both releasing the rain over the town and releasing the cloud of stress over his father.
Awards and Reviews
ALA Notable Children's Books - Middle Readers Category: 2010
Booklist Editors' Choice - Books for Youth - Middle Readers Category: 2009
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens: 2010
School Library Journal
Starred Review. It is 1937 in Kansas, during the Dust Bowl, and 11-year-old Jack can barely remember a world with plentiful water and crops. Unable to help his father with a harvest that isn’t there, and bullied by the other boys his age, he feels like a useless baby. Stories offer a refuge, and there are multiple stories in this work. Jack’s mother tells about the time when the land was a fertile “paradise.” Jack’s invalid sister, Dorothy, is readingThe Wizard of Oz , gaining inspiration from the adventures of another Kansan of the same name. Jack’s friend comforts him with folktales about a brave man named Jack who masters nature, battling the King of the West Wind, the King of Blizzards, and the King of the Northeast Winds. In the end, Phelan turns the Dust Bowl into another one of Ernie’s “Jack” tales when the real Jack encounters the Storm King in an abandoned barn and finds out that he has been holding back the rain. The boy must then gather the strength to determine his own narrative, as well as his parched town’s future. Children can read this as a work of historical fiction, a piece of folklore, a scary story, a graphic novel, or all four. Written with simple, direct language, it’s an almost wordless book: the illustrations’ shadowy grays and blurry lines eloquently depict the haze of the dust. A complex but accessible and fascinating book. –Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY --Lisa Goldstein (Reviewed September 1, 2009) (School Library Journal, vol 55, issue 9, p190)
Publishers Weekly
Set during the 1930s, when Kansas farmers tried to survive during a terrible drought, this graphic novel for younger readers shows a boy discovering that he can save his family by bringing back the rain. Jack Clark is a shy 11-year-old whose father thinks he's useless at practical chores. The boy is not used to having any responsibilities, so when he sees a dark figure lurking in an abandoned barn near their house, he doesn't want to do anything about it. He'd rather chalk it up to “dust dementia,” until he realizes that the brooding shape is the rain, which has withdrawn from the land so that people will yearn for it until they are willing to worship it as a god. What Jack does next won't surprise readers who've seen countless puny but plucky heroes in juvenile fiction. The big novelty here is the Dust Bowl setting, and Phelan's art emphasizes the swirling, billowing clouds of fine grit that obscure even nearby objects. Older readers might have appreciated more text to make up for the lack of visual clarity, but kids will identify with Jack and appreciate his success. (Sept.) --Staff (Reviewed August 17, 2009) (Publishers Weekly, vol 256, issue 33, p51)
Connections
Portraying historical fiction in the format of a graphic novel is a great way to connect an ignored genre of literature with a growing trend (graphic novels). By making a story focused on a part of history into a vivid, illustrative text, children who read graphic novels may be exposed to historical fiction and those that read historical fiction may be exposed to the graphic novel. Anytime genres mix, the results will be the introduction to something new. This could lead to children or teens taking an element of history and not only creating a story from it, but creating some art as well.
Probably most children do not focus on the dust bowl when it comes to history. There are other parts that are much more exciting: war, discoverers, natural disasters. Yet, Phelan's story will grab anyone's attention based on this idea of the Rain retaliating against mankind. Also, the illustrations of the Rain are a bit frightening with his skeletal features which older children will enjoy. The hardships are exhibited more through the illustrations than the text, but I do not see this as a negative aspect. In fact, I think the story being mostly visual would assist in bringing other younger readers to this genre of historical fiction - a task that has proven challenging in the past.
Similar Readings
The Last Brother: A Civil War Tale (Trinka Hakes Noble and illustrated by Robert Papp): A story of historical fiction of a brother who accompanies his last brother to battle in an effort to protect him even though he is younger and the bugler. Also, a graphic novel historical fiction.
Life in the Dust Bowl (Sally Senzell Isaacs): An informational text about the hardships of the dust bowl and how families survived.
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